"Beam of hope" Acrylic paint, Oil pastel, Glitter, Paper mache, Glue, Fabric paint and Cardboard 24” x 30” - I was inspired by Van Gogh's technique in The Starry Night and Post-Impressionism. I used oil pastels and acrylic paint draw broad lines and glitter for highlight. I also applied paper-mache to the bottom and hand painted and cut out monarch butterflies for a 3D effect off the canvas. My subjects are the sun and monarch butterflies and I used the golden triangle rule to convey harmony. 

"Peace in Paris" Gouache paint and pen on paper 12’’ x 18’’ - This artwork is about climate change, specifically global warming. I wanted to create a deep discussion on how modern society is dealing with global warming by using the imagery of the Eiffel tower and title of the work. The Eiffel tower is meant to represent the Paris Peace Accords, and how if countries like the United States do not get more involved with climate change agreements that the world will turn ablaze. 

"Presence of Mind" Plank wood, branches, ceramic, acrylic paint, spray paint 14” x 14.7” - Through journey through life, I have grown into my own character to find my way in my culture and meeting new people. My culture is symbolized through the style of my dress and the purity of the white color. I stand by a tree to symbolize my growth in life and how I am immersed in my journey as I am immersed into the tree. 

"Koi Fish" Acrylic paint, watercolor paint, crayola model magic clay, and prisma colored pencils. 18” x 20” - I made this Koi fish come out of the water because it shows signs of playfulness. I wanted to capture the beauty of water and a great way to do that was putting multiple koi fish in the water. I painted the little koi fish and the body of the big koi fish. The big koi fish head is made out of clay and was painted with acrylic paint. The watercolor paint was used for the water background. The prisma colors were used to define the lily pads and stems. 

"Balance" Poster Paper, Blick Markers, Indian, White, and Silver Ink, Watercolor, Acrylic Paint, Foam Tape 13” x 22” - Dragon holding red and blue orb represents my Asian culture and represents balance; Um/Yin Yang. The dragon is included to display my love for dragons and dedication to detail. Space represents the vastness of the world and its mysteries. Purple surrounding the dragon is a complementary color for the yellow-green. It also represents the color within a dark world. 

Walk Through the Forest Acrylic paint on canvas 8”x 10” One of my first attempts in acrylic landscape painting, and one piece of multiple attempts to create the most suitable painting for display. I have gone through 5 canvases each of different sizes to properly accommodate the details and the way I wanted every figure to be. Using black, white, and grey because I felt like I still couldn’t trust myself with more vibrant and detailed colors. 

"Emotion Pt.2" Acrylic Paint on Canvas 8’’ x 10” - In this portrait I mainly focused on the cool colors used for the face. I decided to use non-skin colors and instead chose green and blue paint to blend in together and create an interesting mixture of colors. This painting is a contrast of another one of my paintings. Using blues and greens gives the painting a more human-like expression. 

"Alejandra" Charcoal 35.5” x 23.5” - I created a charcoal portrait, and was inspired by my previous surrealist portrait. I decided to use an image of my sister as a reference image, to make this piece more meaningful to me. After I finished drawing, I added marks across and on top of my portrait to add more to my artwork. I chose to work on crinkled up kraft paper to add to the overall effect of the charcoal. 

"In Stagnant Water" graphite pencil, Prismacolor colored pencils, art Stix, oil pastel 20” x 16” - This artwork began as a parody of Romantic paintings where the horizon is a symbol of hope. However, this piece grew complex than simple parody. The sky is oil pastel, the ocean Prismacolor, the pillar in graphite, and the fish a mixture of the three. In this piece, all three media create a unified whole that radiates a sense of passion, intensity, but also loneliness and wrongness. 

"Venus Fly" Mixed Media on Mixed Media Paper 9” x 12” - Because of the stress put on me to create more works, I made this piece. Rather than having specific plans I made what I felt and experimented with many mediums such as colored pencil, water color, gouache, and ink. I did this piece as I was inspired by the song Venus Fly by Grimes and Janelle Monae, and made what I thought it would sound like.As I worked on this piece I felt a mass amount of freedom which I have not felt during my year in art. This helped me make a piece which I am proud of and believe is a representation of my creativity.

"Change in perspective" Acrylic, Oil Pastel, Cotton balls, on canvas 8in x 11in - Over time and through experience the human mind adapts. Our feelings change towards things that we previously enjoyed. This piece is a social commentary on the mind of a student that was excited to learn. As he has gotten older he feels the pressure of others and the looming necessity of a higher education. Even if he wanted to go to college, it wouldn’t be his choice anymore because of society. 

“Deadline, 2020” Digital Media - This piece contains a collection of photographs that are layered and erratically joined in a way that implies the subject, but does not completely reveal it. It is made to convey the panic and stress that I often experience when a deadline for an assignment is approaching, and the darkness is an embodiment of the dread that I often feel during this time as well. This is especially true of assignments that build up until they are unbearable.